Is Black Money stashed abroad a plunder of the nation?

Jagran Josh

Jun 24, 2014 17:13 IST

Yes it is. Honourable Supreme Court of India in January 2011, while hearing a petition on Black Money, rightly said that “black money is not a simple tax evasion. Instead it is a plunder of the nation in real sense.”

Some 150 years ago Britishers plundered India by draining the wealth of India into their home country. Now it is the politic-business-babu nexus which is plundering the nation of its precious wealth since independence.

In 2010, US-based Global Financial Integrity estimated that 462 billion dollars went out of India between 1948 and 2008. Just think of the magnitude of precious national wealth being stolen out of India. And just think how far it would have gone in eliminating poverty in India and strengthening Indian economy.

According to recent data released by the Swiss Central Bank in June 2014, the magnitude of black money held by Indians in Switzerland increased by 43 percent in 2013 to reach 14000 crore rupees from 9593 crore rupees in 2012.

Even though India is ranked 58th overall in the list of nations having black money stashed in Switzerland but what is worrying is the magnitude of increase when all the nations have witnessed a decline.

Moreover, this increase has come despite of ongoing negotiations going on between India and other tax haven countries to release the names of Indian having black money and Government of India’s initiation of measures to bring back black money stashed abroad.

Recently, the Swiss government has shown its intention to share the names of Indians having unaccounted money with Government of India. This will go a long way in aiding the SIT on Black Money headed by Justice (retd) M B Shah to unearth the black money.

However, whether it will be brought back to India or not, will depend upon Narendra Modi led government’s good intentions to reveal the names of such individuals and act upon those individuals.

In conclusion, black money stashed abroad is the wealth of India and that should be brought back immediately and the individuals responsible for this should be nabbed and imprisoned. Nothing short of declaring black money stashed abroad as national crime will be effective in saving the plunder of the nation.

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